Encounter With An Enigma
He's A Baboon...and you're not They'd decided to book a hotel, the three of them. Due to the clerk giving Jason an odd expression, he explained away the presence of the two females by stating they were his wife and daughter. The clerk bought it, and immediately had checked them into rooms. That was hours ago. Right now, they were sleeping in their hotel room, Wendy curled up against Jason in one bed and Vivian in another. Vivian was snoring...rather loudly. She was dreaming of the good times, where she wasn't thrown into this whole complicated mess; where she would go through a strictly formulaic day, which consisted of: Waking up > getting dressed and having breakfast > going to school > coming home > having dinner > relaxing. It was simple and repetitive, but damn if it wasn't relaxing- it gave her more time to think these days as well. Suddenly, she found herself falling onto the floor; she had rolled straight out- she believed that she was in a marathon in her dream, and managed to fall in the creek...which is what she usually did every time she ran down that road. "...Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammit!" her voice roared before she quickly shut her mouth, not wanting to wake anyone up. Not that it worked. Jason, never a sound sleeper, felt his eyes immediately shoot open and he sat up quickly, miraculously not waking Wendy. He scanned the room, before seeing Vivian on the ground. He wore an expression of dull irritation, showing he was far from amused. "You screamed, and yet are not being murdered. Don't do it again. You could have woken Wendy." Vivian glared up at him, rather pissed off. "You know those dreams where you fall in a creek and almost drown? It was one of those. So I'd advise you to attempt to be at least a little sympathetic." She'd had worse dreams. Especially the ones involving giraffes. She sighed. "...Well, at least she ain't wide awake. After what she'd been through, I'd be surprised she's still sane..." "Exactly my point. She needs her rest. On that note, how are you doing?" Vivian scrambled to her feet, mumuring, "...Why are you concerned all of a sudden, hm?" She honestly thought that he didn't give a damn about anyone other than Wendy; all evidence pointed to that as well. "I just took you away from your job, utterly eradicated fifty or so of your comrades in front of your eyes, and tried to kill you twice." Jason recounted the events of the past day. "You're my comrade, it's a perfectly natural question of concern." Vivian snarked in a completely deadpan tone, "Well, thank you." It was clear she wasn't amused by this comment. She rubbed her head, still somewhat sore from the previous day. "Feel like somebody's applied a brick to my face. And trust me, that ain't a good feeling." "I see." Jason didn't show much reaction, but was pleased she answered. "I'm sure you'll rid yourself of that feeling as you get used to us. You're my comrade, and as such, I'll try to make you feel..." He seemed to struggle with the word. "...welcome." He'd never had to say anything like that before. "I'll even protect you if the situation calls for it." Vivian seemed to blush at Jason's comment; though she crossed her arms rather haughtily and turned away, unwilling to show him her embarrassed face. "...I-It's fine, I...I don't need help..." she seemed rather haughty about it; though it was clear by her tone she appreciated it. "How touching..." A voice sounded throughout the room as a man in a baboon cloak appeared, kneeling on one knee and looking at Jason, though his face was concealed. "I wouldn't have expected you were capable of such emotion, Jason LaHote...but of course, after you took in the child, I suppose anything is possible." Jason's eyes narrowed with apparent dislike. "Mr. E...so nice to see you again. I'd say in the flesh, but that would be using the phrase in an improper context." Vivian looked at this guy, thouroughly confused. "...Wait, who's the monkey guy?" She remarked to herself in a rather dissapointed tone, "...Great. I must be a freak magnet." Rather ironic, seeing who it was coming from. "But he looks...rather suspicious, don't you think?" It was easy pointing out the obvious. Mr. E looked over at the girl. "Girl, your powers of observation astound me. Since you seem to be in perfect working order, go make me a sandwich." Jason growled. "Why are you here, E?" The man stood up, and it was obvious he was smirking. "Akatsuki...I am here to affiliate myself with you. An independent guild, while has it's perks, would be nothing without something backing it. I know all the crooks-''" "Fitting, seeing as you are one." Jason snarked. "-and can make this guild the easiest amount of profit, so long as you're willing to help me in return. You know me, Jason." The berry-headed boy frowned. "Yes, I know you. Therein lies the problem." He mused. "Fine...we will affiliate with you...if you extend protection to Wendy." "''Ah...the Sky Sorceress..." Mr. E chuckled. "I know how much you care for the child. I have something rather special coming along for her. Then it is settled. You agree to work on my terms, the girl has my protection." "...Agreed. Is that all?" "Yes." He began to fade, chuckling. "Also, it would do you well to know that you are not entirely safe. The Magic Council will be looking. I will deter them occasionally, but you will have to run. How long will you last?" Vivian frowned at this enigmatic guy. "...I'm sorry, but there's no way in hell I'm making you a sandwich." She gritted her teeth, rather annoyed. Shaking that off her mind, she bowed in a rather uncharacteristically polite manner. "...But thank you for the assistance." She wasn't sure if the three could actually evade the Magic Council for more than three months alone; a chance like this was one of a kind. Jason sat down on the bed, frowning. "What is his game..." His frowned deepened, and would most likely set. He'd met E when he'd first arrived in Earthland, and the man had offered him assistance. However, he'd never truly seen his face, and was still wary of the man. But he'd offered protection to Wendy, a major bonus. "...tch. Expect to be seeing him, or that illusion he calls a messenger, alot more often now." Vivian sighed. "...Well, he seems vaguely helpful. At least I guess since you know him, he can't be ALL that bad. Besides, any help is good help, right?" At least she thought that was how the old saying went. "Would you consider it good help if I "helped" you fall off a cliff?" Jason replied waspishly. It was obvious he was not overly fond of Mr. E. Vivian scowled at Jason, looking pretty off it. "...What that a rhetorical question!?" She crossed her arms rather haughtily, stomping her foot like a bull about to charge at their prey. Of course, she wasn't going to; but the comparison was impossible to miss, funnily enough. "Sorry." Jason muttered quickly. "I was making a point that the kind of help he gives isn't always the best." He frowned. "Of course, these limiters..." He trailed off, and it was obvious Vivian didn't know what he meant when he said "limiters". If she was about to ask, she was question-blocked quickly by a child' voice. "Jason..." Wendy was speaking, and Jason quickly turned. She was sitting up, looking bewildered. "Where are we? Are we safe?" Jason smiled, his heart melting as it always did with this girl. She crawled over to him and he placed his hand on her head. "Of course you're safe. I am here. You have nothing to fear with me." Wendy smiled, relieved, but then gasped in shock when she saw Vivian. "Y-you...!" She seemed to be at a loss for words. Vivian gasped and suddenly jumped back for some inexplicable reason; she seemed rather frightened. "...Haaa...!" Perhaps it was something that she didn't know about; however, she quickly regained her composure and extended her hand to the little girl. "...I must apologize for before; orders were orders..." she glanced away. "...I can tell you something, the legendary lieutenant detective of the Rune Knights' celebrated Vice Division, THE INCOMPARABLE SUPERCOP," she stressed those words rather hammily, "...Is no harm now; I'm here to help you more or less." "Would you like some pineapple with that ham?" Jason asked, his face perfectly deadpan again. Wendy eyed her suspiciously. "I don't trust you...." "Perfectly understandable." Jason agreed with her. "But she's our comrade now. She helped me find you." Wendy looked shocked. "But...she's...not nice..." The girl finished lamely. "She's easy enough once she's not the designated antagonist." Jason assured her. "Be calm. If she turns back to the Council and becomes an enemy..." He looked up at her, their eyes meeting. "...I'll kill here. As long as she remains here, both of you are within my protection." Vivian's eyes widened, registering this condition clearly in her head. "...R-Right..." of course, she wouldn't betray them; in fact, she'd been wanting to defect for quite some time now; but due to the right time never coming up, she was doomed to work on that hell of a job. That was one thing she wanted to thank the two for; at least now she could attempt to expose the corruption within the Magic Council. "...I'll keep note of that..." she seemed rather nervous. Jason eyed her. "I don't believe for a second that you would betray us." He wasn't smiling, but his smile was reserved for his precious Wendy and those he would kill. He got up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm giving you my faith. Don't waste it." Wendy looked surprised. "Jason....he's being nice to someone besides me...I wonder..." Vivian seemed rather put off by his comment. It would be easy to misinterprete many of her actions if she were to try and converse with her former colleagues, so it would be best if she left them in the dark- she didn't want to die or anything rather...unpleasant. Vivian bit her lip, remarking in a false calm tone, "...You c-can count on me." "Now that we're all awake...Wendy, I want you to begin training." "T-training?" The girl looked puzzled. It was a word she'd never heard before. "Yes. Practice, to make you stronger." Jason ruffled her hair. "I don't want to lose you, so I want you to be able to defend yourself. I'm aware your magic is Dragon Slayer. So we'll try to help you master that. We don't have any other Dragon Slayers around, but instinct could be vital here." He looked over at Vivian. "Care to help with the training?" Vivian half-heartedly put her hand up, informing Jason, "....Uhhh, I had a Dragon Slayer Lacrima surgically implanted in me because I was frail as a kid...I think I can help..." Her tone was rather unsure of herself; though it was clear that she geniunely wanted to help- even if she actually knew very little about her magic. Roar of the Dragons "This should do it." Jason said as they reached a clearing. They'd checked out of that hotel, Jason casually erasing them from the check-in logs while the clerk wasn't looking, and came into the forest to train. "Wendy, can you use of your magic at all?" "Um..." Wendy frowned. "It's kinda of there, like...like I know from a past life. I know I can use a few healing spells..." She looked down. She knew Jason wanted something strong. Jason frowned. Or did he? He always was frowning. A frown was put into his frown so he could look unhappy while he looked unhappy. "Healing spells...those could be useful, I'm impressed you can pull off things like that..." Wendy smiled, her eyes glistening. She was happy to hear that she wasn't being a let-down yet. Jason looked over at Vivian. "What about you, Vivian Starrkewolfe? Are you capable of anything?" Vivian looked at him with a total 'Oh no you didn't' expression on her face. "...Yes! You'll see...I can do lots of things...." But making sandwiches wasn't one of them. She crossed her arms again- it was gonna be obvious that she'd do that a lot while pouting. "I'll damn well show you!" She looked out at the blue sky. "Solar Dragon's..." pure heat was amassed in her mouth. "...Roar!" suddenly, Vivian released an extremely large and sparkling blast of heat from her mouth, razing the sky and turning it crimson for a few moments. Upon releasing the spell, she managed to fall backwards, already tired out. This display actually caused Jason's eyes to widen. That was a spectacular display of power, on par with his blasts of raw Magical power. He wouldn't have expected that from Vivian. "Impressive, certainly impressive." He bent down, offering Vivian his hand. Wendy was enamored with that technique, sure that it could help her stand along side Jason. Vivian shakily took his hand, holding her head with her other hand, nodding rather tiredly, "T-Thanks...I guess." Using that spell, which was the basic spell for all Dragon Slayers, ironically took up more magical power than more powerful spells she had. Suddenly, she muttered, "...Egh...I swear, I feel like I'mma hurl..." she slowly staggered off before managing to rest on a fallen tree trunk, her face in the grass as puking sounds could be heard. "Judging from how that technique was performed, it was an outward projection of the user's element with pure power backing it." Jason noted, having analyzed the technique easily. "Your element is air, which is all around us. I've heard Dragon Slayers can devour their own element. With practice, I believe you can do it as well." Wendy nodded. "I-I can try!" She was the Sky Dragon Slayer, this magic was hers, such a spell should come with no problem to her. She tried to focus, breathing, before opening her body to the air, swallowing the air and combining it with magical power. "Sky Dragon's Roar!" She expelled the combined materials, but there was no result, merely a small puff of air like any small exhale. She panted, and looked at Jason. "I-I'm sorry. It was a dud..." Jason didn't seem like he was displeased, and placed a hand on her hand. "Let's try again. Your power is the wind, it's all around you. You simply must harness it." "Right!" Wendy swallowed air once again, melding it with the magic power in her body. "Sky Dragon's Roar!" She expelled it all, this time it was a success, a smashing of invisible wind that destroyed everything in it's path. Jason looked on, smiling. This was going to be a success. Wendy panted again, that attacked was a bit tiring. "I-I did it!" Vivian glanced up at the blue skies, before glancing at the grassy ground, hurling again. "...Dammit...!" It was true; she never had much stamina. Her evaluation in the academy told her that her physical abilities and magical power were outstandingly high, but she had no appreciation for studying and her stamina was sub-par, basically. "...Ugh...little help...? Please?" "I-I can." Wendy bent down next to her, and conjured a small ball in her hand. "A special healing spell, Troia..." Jason watched as she placed the magic sphere into Vivian's body, and the effect was near immediate. Vivian's eyes fluttered rather stupendously, "...Huhh..." she couldn't believe it. Not only was she completely back to normal, she felt even better than new. "...Wait wait wait wait wait. You're easily the best healer I've come across..." "Very impressive Wendy." He ruffled her hair, which caused her to smile. "Your magic is versatile, much more than my own." He looked over at Vivian. "Can you still help Wendy hone her powers, Vivian Starrkwolfe? Is there something more to the Dragon Slayer Magic that you're holding back while you were expelling sick for your body?" Vivian crossed her arms, rather annoyed. "...You know, you can still call me just Vivian. It's less of a mouthful, okay?" She didn't see the problem with it- though she was unaware why she didn't call her just by her first name. She nodded and smiled at Wendy rather warmly. "You can count on me! I'll make you the strongest Dragon Slayer ever!" "Ah!" Wendy smiled, and decided she was ready to try and get stronger. It seemed like Vivian was gaining Wendy's trust. Not an easy thing to do to the child you nearly killed before, but children are easy to gain the trust of. "Thank you!" She said, ever the polite child. "I'm ready to learn!" Vivian made a determined gesture by pretending to roll up her sleeves. "...Alright, watch closely." She thrust her left hand outwards, before separating her legs to achieve a good balance; remarking, "Now, take this pose..." She thrust her other arm in the air; as an aura of heat surrounded her. "...This is Solar Drive. It causes my element to become infused with my bloodstream before reaching my brain, chiming with the adrenaline I get during a fight. This in turn reacts with with own body and magical energy, multiplying my strength." She glanced over at Wendy. "...You should be able to derive something similar from watching this." Wendy frowned. A physical enhancement spell on herself would be difficult. "I..I don't think I can master a spell like that yet." She did however like the enhancement nature of it, but she knew Jason wanted power. "Is it ok if we focus on offence?" Jason looked at Vivian. "We can hone her supplementary skills later, however, that is very interesting to see. You're rather creative, Vivian Starrkewolfe." Vivian smiled rather sincerely; "R-Right." Focusing her position, she made a traditional tai-chi pose; noting, "Listen up! An extra awesome pose is neccessary for these kinds of things!" Pure heat amassed on her left hand, as she declared, "Now, watch my movements closely! Solar Dragon's Devouring Fang!" She thrust her hand forward, which was imbued with heat. Upon reaching her entire arm's length, it caused a viscious explosion that resounded through the air. Vivian then pressed her finger to her lip. "...Oh, wait! One thing else! Dragon Slayers can eat their element from any source, even opposing magics. All you need to do is inhale and activate your magic the moment that the element reaches your mouth." "I-I see!" Wendy started to pose as well, but Jason grunted. "No, just no." ---- The sun was setting, a few hours obviously having passed. Wendy was on her knees, panting. Around her, quite a bit of the forest was in shambles, trees uprooted, and the ground was brutally ripped into. Vivian herself looked exhausted as well. Jason was smiling deviously. "That was spectacular. You both improved at a spectacular rate, and the level of destruction your magics can cause...perfect for eradicating anything that stands in the way of Akatsuki." Vivian sat, panting on the ground; her small hands grasping at the emerald grass that surrounded her. "...Ehh...ehh...' she was totally out of puff by now; though nothing like that stopped her. "R-Right...Firstly, I do believe that maybe we should accept other members? An extra helping hand never hurts, right?" "Independent or not, we are a guild." Jason said, stooping down to pick up Wendy, who wrapped her arms around his neck, easily drifting off to sleep. "We will accept anyone who wishes to join. Our name is not simply for show. We will be the dawn of a new world." END Category:Storyline